Nearly half — 48% — of student loan borrowers expect debt forgiveness in the future.
Many of those borrowers anticipate that the government will excuse them from their education loans, according to Sallie Mae’s annual How America Pays for College report.
(Between April 8 and May 14, global market research company Ipsos conducted the online interviews, which included 1,000 undergraduate students and 1,000 parents of undergraduate students.)
While there are ample opportunities for relief, consumer advocates warn families not to make borrowing decisions based on the assumption that they won’t have to repay the debt.
To that point, tens of millions of student loan borrowers did not receive debt cancellation when the Supreme Court rejected President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student debt per borrower last summer.
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The upcoming presidential election also puts existing student loan forgiveness programs at risk.
As president, Donald Trump called for the elimination of the U.S. Department of Education’s existing loan relief programs, including the popular Public Service Loan Forgiveness initiative, which benefits public employees such as members of the U.S. armed forces, first responders, public defenders, prosecutors and teachers. Trump also wanted to slash the department’s budget, and his administration halted a regulation aimed at providing loan forgiveness to those defrauded by their schools.
A spokesperson for the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration’s new affordable repayment plan that leads to expedited forgiveness for many borrowers, known as SAVE, is currently on hold amid a slew of legal challenges.
The bottom line: relying on loan forgiveness may backfire, financial experts warn.
“Borrowing for college makes sense for some families, but it’s critical to have a plan and do so responsibly,” Rick Castellano, vice president of Sallie Mae, said in a statement.
Tips to avoid overborrowing
As the share of student loan borrowers with six-figure balances swells, financial experts recommend families borrow cautiously.
Overborrowing can lead to a host of financial and psychological consequences.
Nearly 80% of those borrowers who owe between $130,000 and $139,000 in student debt report feeling a “high” or “very high” amount of stress from their debt, compared with just around 25% among those with a balance of less than $10,000, according to data analyzed by higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.
“If you borrow too much, you will have less money available for other priorities, such as buying a home,” Kantrowitz previously told CNBC.
“You may also have to take a job that pays better as opposed to the job that matches your career goals,” he added.
The general rule of thumb is not to borrow more than you expect to earn as a starting salary, said Betsy Mayotte, president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, a nonprofit.
That figure will vary based on what a student selects as a major. You can look up annual average incomes for different occupations at the U.S. Department of Labor’s website.
Kantrowitz recommends that families consider colleges based on the “net price,” which is the amount they’ll have to pay with savings, income and loans to cover the bill, after aid that doesn’t need to be repaid, including grants and scholarships.
When calculating the four-year net cost of attendance at a school, Kantrowitz said it’s important to keep in mind that different years may cost different amounts because some colleges offer aid only for the first year or two.
Therefore, after estimating the total cost — and factoring in any money you plan to direct toward the college bill — you will know if what you’d need to borrow is reasonable.